Chapter 116

After he left, I turned to Theo. “Is all of that true?”

Theo pressed his lips together in thought. “There are rumors,” he confirmed. “There is definitely a city outside Packhaven that houses many of the workers who can’t afford to live within the more expensive parts of the city. But I honestly can’t speak about the living conditions there because I haven’t been there. And it doesn’t sound like he has either.”

Theo looked in the direction the man had gone with his wife. “I realize that he wants to care for the less fortunate. But be careful what you put in your article unless you’re willing to go out to Southhaven and see for yourself. Everything he told you is just speculation.”

“I know.” I nodded. “I’m aware of the risks of publishing speculation. But thank you for looking out for my reputation.”

Theo touched my elbow and indicated a food truck nearby. “Would you like something to snack on?”

“I’m just about ready to head home and have dinner with Charles.”

“I know,” he said, “But since you’re not from Packhaven, you really have to try one of the local snacks.”

“And what’s that?”

“This area is known for its late summer fruit production. So we’re at the height of the best season for our peaches and are early apples. We make a delightful selection of scones and crips with them. Would you like to try some?”

My stomach growled. “I think I could find room for a little dessert before we go home.”

His grin widened into a toothy smile. “My treat, as a welcome to Packhaven.”

“You treated us to breakfast this morning already. You’re going to spoil me.”

Theo ducked his head shyly. “I really ought to spoil you,” he said. “You saved me.”

“Oh? How so?” I cocked my head and eyed him.

He leaned in and whispered as if trying to keep something shocking a secret. “You rescued me from a horrible assignment,” he said. “One of the high-ranking official’s kids has been having trouble with bullies. David and I were originally going to be assigned to watch over him. But it’s common knowledge that the only reason he gets picked on by anyone is because he’s a complete punk. And no one wants to deal with his disrespect. It would have been a completely unpleasant assignment.”

Theo ordered one crepe and one scone, then stepped to the side to let the people behind us order. We ended up catching public transportation back to the apartment building because Wendy wanted to go get her son from school.

Theo gave his approval and decided that it would be a good chance to show me the rail line that ran through the city.

“You’re sure you can keep me safe?” I fretted.

“As well as almost anywhere,” he said. “We were just in a huge crowd. So how much worse could the rail line be?”

“Good point.”

I followed him while he pointed out a few things about the city that Wendy had missed. Although that was kind of unbelievable, given the amount of word vomit, she showered us with.

His advice was more of the practical sort. Theo showed me where to purchase the tickets for the rail line and stuff like that. Then he fell silent, and I spent the rest of the ride home drafting my portion of the article in my head.

When I felt like I’d be able to punch it out quickly at home, I let my mind wander. And it wandered straight back to kids and jobs and the expectations here in Packhaven.

I knew I needed to have a conversation with Charles about this, but before I could do that, I had to get my own feelings sorted out. It would be difficult to tell him what I wanted from him or what I was willing to give when I didn’t even know what I wanted for myself.

“This is our stop,” Theo said, breaking through my train of thought.

Now, I felt guilty because he had shown me the rail line so that I could experience another part of this city, and yet I’d spent the entire time not paying attention to my surroundings. Instead, I’d been mulling over all of the things in my head.

But thankfully, Theo didn’t ask me what I thought of the ride or if I’d seen anything. Instead, he just quietly led the way off the rail, and through a few alleys to a street I finally recognized as the one where mine and Charles’s apartment was.

He waved to the doorman on our way through, and we rode the elevator in companionable silence up to our floor. The huge difference between Theo’s silence and the silence of the guards just two days ago was that it didn’t feel like he was judging me. It was almost like he, too, used the time to think about the things he wanted to think about and just thoughtfully kept an eye on our surroundings rather than watching me like I was the criminal.

He silently set about making dinner. I felt mildly guilty, especially since he’d said not to get used to him doing the cooking. But my mind felt like it had gone through a spin cycle on the washing machine. I retreated to the main bedroom and laid down, collecting myself.

By the time I heard the door open and Theo greet Charles and David, I knew what I needed to do. Charles and I were simply going to have to talk about our expectations with one another. I’d have to make him see how important my job was to me. And how dangerous our current situation was. A child would be a bad idea right now.

But he loved me enough to wait, right?

When the door opened, the look on his face crushed my desire to talk. I’d never seen Charles look so beaten. How could I lay more problems on him at the moment? Besides, it wasn’t like he’d asked me to leave my job. We had plenty of time to talk about my issues when he was in the mood to hear them.

I opened my arms, and Charles flopped down on the bed beside me, tucking his head onto my arm and turning his face to me. He pressed his nose to my shoulder and drew long, deep breaths, using my scent to steady his head and heart.

I couldn’t even bring myself to ask what had gone so wrong. He clearly needed a minute.

Charles turned his face, nuzzling the side of my breast. A moment later, the tips of his fingers traced the line of skin between my shirt and my skirt.

I pushed his hand down. “Why don’t you tell me what’s wrong? You look like you need an ear.”

He shook his head. “I need you to help me forget for a bit. Okay?”

He shifted so he could kiss me deeply, his lips crushing against mine.

I glanced at the door, which was open to the living room. David and Theo’s soft conversation wafted in with hints of both dinner and their caramel and rum. I wiggled away from Charles and crossed the room to shut the door.

The moment it closed, he caught me around the waist, stuffing me against the wall. “Careful,” I yelp. “You squashed my nose.”

Without saying a word, he yanked my skirt up, pinning me between himself and the wall. Hot, hard kisses lined my neck.

He bit down on my earlobe, growling, “I’m in the mood to dominate. I don’t want to hear a word unless I’m actually hurting you.”

“Uh, Okay—”

He clamped one hand across my mouth. “Not a word. You can moan.”

His free hand pinched my nipple, and before the cry I gave over that was finished, he’d plunged his fingers deep inside me. His following movements blurred the line between pleasure and pain.